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5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. W. TOM-LINSON 8v A.'BALG1E[. v NEWSPAPER WRAPPING, ADDRESSING AND SORTING MACHINE,

No. 272,355. I Patented Feb.l3, 1883.

(No Model.)

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( No Model.) 5 su ars-sheet 2. B. W. TOMLINSON & A. BALUH.

NEWSPAPER WRAPPIN ADDRESSING AND SORTING MACHINE,

No. 272,355. Patented Feb. 13,1883..

966666; 6 pjliwembrqg W W ---/w/a 2056 41.- MZI" 5 Sheets-:Sheet 3.

B. W.'TOMLINSON 8a A. BALOH.

NEWSPAPER WRAPPING, ADDRESSING AND SORTING MACHINE,

No. 272.355, Patented .Eeb. 13,1883.

(No Model.)

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(No Madel.)

-B. w; TOMLINSON & A. BALGH. NEWSPAPER WRAPPING, ADDRESSING AND SORTING MACHINE,

IlIHilllllllllIllllllllllllllllll v lIllIIilImlllllliillllllllllllli Patented Feb. 13, 1883.

N, PETERS, Wm. Wm B. C.

(No Model.) I 5 Sheets-Sheet 5. B. W. TOMLINSON-Sn' A. BALGH. NEWSPAPER WRAPPING, ADDRESSING A ND SQRTING MACHINE,

110.272.355. PatentedPeb.13,1883.

N, PETERS, Pnmu m w. Walhington. no I UNITED STATES I PATENT ()FFICE.-

BENJAMIN w. TOMLINSON AND ALFRED BALOH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y,-

' ASSIGNORS TO PARKER w. GAGE, TRUSTEE, OF SAME PLACE.

NEWSPAPER WRAPPING, ADDRESSING AN D SORTlNG llllACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 272,355, dated February 13, 1883. Application filed January 20, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that we, BENJAMIN W.TOMLIN- SON'and ALFRED BALCH, citizens of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Newspaper Wrapping, Addressing, and Sorting Machines, of which the followingis a specification, reference being bad to the drawings accompanying and forming a part thereof.

The invention which forms the subject of our present application relates to machines comprising, in combination, mechanisms for associating newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, or other publications and wrappers, for applying to each its appropriate address, and for delivering them in proper condition for'mailing. It is required of such machines that the several mechanisms perform their allotted functions with the greatest possible rapidity, and, since all SllOllldCO-ODGIPItG, that their action should be unerringly accurate. These constitute the objects to the attainment of which our pres' ent invention is mainly directed, the said invention comprising improvements in the mechanisms for primarily associating the newspapers or other publications and the wrappers, for printing the addresses, and foreffecting the inclosurc of the papers in the wrappers and delivering them in condition for mailing,

The invention further embraces certain de- .vices of novel character employed in the constructiou ofour apparatus, the nature of which will be fully hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus involving the subject-matter ot' our invention, the section being through the device, close to one of its sides; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the exterior of the supporting-frame, exhibiting also the sorting and delivering mechanism. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the opposite side of the apparatus, with an illustration of the means for imparting motion to the several parts Fig. 4, a view in perspective of the mechanism for securing the wrappers; Fig. 5,.a perspective of a portion of the devices employed for printing the addresses and effecting the sorting of the publications as they are delivered. Fig.

6 is a view in elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 4, the plan of mounting the said devices being here shown; Fig.7, adiagrammatic illustration 'of the nature and principle of oplivered folded in shape to be inclosed in wrappers for mailing, and we would here state that as the character of such machines does not anter into a consideration of the present invention, except in as far as provision must be made for the delivery of the publications from the folding-machine to the wrapping and delivery apparatus just before they have received their last fold; they are neither, shown nor specifically described. It will be readily understood, however, that the wrapping apparatus will be constructed with respect to the devices for receiving the folded publications from the folding-machine to meet the requirements of particular cases, no substantial variation from the construction herein described being necessary,

The apparatus which we have designed is to be supported by a suitable frame-work, and its moving parts to receive motion from a. main shaft by a system of gearing arranged to impart to the machine motion that renders its action continuous and rapid. Referring to Fig. 1, A represents such a frame, and B B two reels suitably mounted thereon, one, as B, containing a continuous web of wrappingpaper, lathe other a continuous system of stencils linked or otherwise connected together as, for instance, as is illustrated in Fig. 4, where tongues in one plate registering with slots in the next are employed as the means of connection. The web I) and stencils b are to be drawn off from the reels simultaneously, and brought together by two carrier-rolls, c 0. These rollers are arranged to unwind from the reel B at each revolution .of the main shaft enough paper to form one wrapper, and from the reel 13- an equal length of stencil-plate, the addresses on which are to be at such definite distances apart that each of such lengths will contain one address in proper relative position to the wrapper to which it is to be imparted. The web b and band I) are passed, after leaving roller 0, between roller 0 and an inking-roller, d. This latter receives its ink from a distributing-roller, d, and an ink-supply roller, d, or otherwise, as may be most desirable, and imparts to the web b, through the stencils, the appropriate addresses. The band of stencilJ) is then to he carried around the roller (1 and over a loose roller, 0, to reel B, upon which it is wound by any means, a cord and weight being convenient for the purpose. The web I), after leaving the rolls 0 (1, passes down the chute or slide 0, and is cut in proper lengths by mechanism actuated by the main shaft-such as aknife connected to a weighted lever, as 0, arranged to he struck by a pin, 0, on the shaft H-or by other cutting or tearing mechanism, such as is commonly employed for this purpose.

The publications to be wrapped are delivered in rapid succession from the folding-machinejust before receiving their lastfold, and at such intervals of time that they will encounter the wrappers at the proper moment. Assuming that newspapers are the publications to be folded and wrapped, each one is received from the folder by the rollers E E, between which it passes, and is carried by the tapes 0 c to the rollers E E, by means of which it is forced through a slot, f, in the slide 0, carrying with it the length of wrapper which it encounters in its passage. It is thus inelosed by a wrapper on two sides, and as'it is caused to encounter the wrapper at a predetermined distance from the middle a flap ot' the wrapper will be left projecting beyond the upper edge of the paper and on the side next to the cutting-blade, as shown. The paper thus inclosed is caught by rollers 1" f, by means of which and the tapes 1 it is brought down, opposite the pressing or folding rolls F F, on the slide or chute 1). Upon reaching this position it is doubled by a blade, G, actuated by acam, G, on the shaft II, (shown in Fig. 2,) and forced between the folding-rolls F F. At tliis'point the paper will have received its last fold, and is entirely iuclosed by the wrapper, the flap of which still projects from the top and to the rear of the folded package. From rollers F F the paper is carried forward by tapes 9 and guide-rods h or other tapes to a pair of disks, '2', mounted at suitable distances apart on a shaft, m, and by these forced out upon the spring-arms m.

K is a small roller arranged in bearings between the disks 1' i and close to the shaft m. It is revolved at a comparatively slow rate of speed by means of a band, K, passing over a wheel, L, that revolves in a paste-reservoir.

G is a fan-wheel revolved by the main shaft and arranged to direct a. continuous blast of air against the wheel K. By this arrangement of the devices, when the newspaper, with the wrapper upon its two sides and in between the last fold, passes over the roller K, the airblast forces the projectingflap of the wrapper against the paste band K and charges it with paste. This is the more surely accomplished on account of the forward movement of the paper at the time that the flap of the wrapper is forced in contact with the pastingsurface. By the springs in the paper is guided to acylinder, M, preferably corrugated, and which revolves in the direction shown by the arrows, so that the paper is drawn in between the cylinder and the rollers n a, which are at this moment stationary. The cylinder M, as shown in Figs. 4: and 7, has a section cut out from its center of slightly greater length than the width of the wrapper. The purpose of this configuration is to bend or curve the paper previous to the operation of receiving the flap of the wrapper, so that the latter will be tightened and prevent the possibility of the two being separated. This will be understood by observing the manner in which these devices operate. The folded newspaper, in passing between the cylinder M and rollers 12, is made to conform to the curved surface of the former. That portion ofthe wrapper, however, that lies between the paper and the cylinder will not be confined to this shape, on account of the space afforded by the removal of the section, but will remain straight, so that when the flap is brought over and secured, as will be further explained, the effect will be to tighten the wrapper around the paper, when the latter is finally released from the apparatus.

The cylinder M is revolved from the main shaft H by a gear-wheel, M, of equal diameter with gear-wheel 0, with which it meshes. The system of rollers a a are journaled in suitable arms projecting from collars on the shaft of cylinder M, about which they are concentrically rotated through the instrumentality of segmental gears N on the main shaft H and gear-wheels O on the said collars. The gears N are segments of'wheels of twice the diameter of the gear-wheels 0, so that for each revolution of the said segments the rollers it a make one revolution about the cylinder M, running at double its speed. The segments N are fixed to main shaft H in such position as to engage gears O at the moment when the newspaper is completely within the space between the cylinder M and the rollers n. As a result, the paper is carried around the cylinder; but as the rollers are moving with twice the velocity of the surface of the cylinder the free end of the wrapper is evertaken by the roller 01, and the flap is laid over and pressed against the opposite side of the package, to which the paste causes it to adhere. After th'is operation the paper is freed from the action of the system of rollers, and is to be discharged from the apparatus. convenient means of effecting this step is by the employment of a spring-blade, P. (Represented in Figs. 1,6, and 7.) The springPis IIS secured in proper manner to the frame or a projection therefrom, and is so placed relatively to the cylinder M that it will be forcedback by the bearings of'thesyst'ems of roll-- ers n it in the course of their m'oyement around the cylinder M. When the said rollers have passed the folded paper the spring P is re-, leased, and its resilience causes it to strike'the paper and drive it out through a suitable open ingin the side of the frame (shown in Fig. 2) and into a chute,P. From this it is delivered by its own weight through one or the other branch of a delivery-tube, p 9), according to the position of the switch r. r The purposeo'f' this isto sort the papers according to their post-office address, and the mechanism which we employ for controlling the action of. the switch is as follows; The switch is shifted by means of the segmentdt or its mechanicalequivalent, which is arranged to be drawn to one side by an electro-magnet, R, and to the other by a spring or weight. The magnet R is in circuit with a battery contained withina case, T, or with other sources of current, as may be deemed preferable. The circuit is opened or closed at'the proper times by the machine itself, and we desire to state that the means for accomplishing this may be varied to a great extent without departure from our invention. The method adopted by us is to effect the requisite makes and breaks by means of the continuous band of stencils, and

for this purpose the individual plates composing said band are made of different widths, and contact-strips S S are employed in conjunction therewith, the said strips being so placed that the wider stencils may come in contactwith both, while the narrower stencils pass by them without touching either. This is illustrated in Fig.5, where a division between two plates of different width is shown, and the contact-springs S S, held by any suitable supporting arms, illustrated in their proper relative position. the springs S S with the. magnet and the battery, so that when a broad stencil is bearing on both springs the magnet is energized and draws its armature-in this case the segment R--over toward itself, thus setting the switch r It will be seen that by this arrangement,

if all the stencils bearing addresses for one post-office be made of the same width and connected together, the switch 1' will remain iii the same position while the papers or other publications intended for that post-office are passing through the delivery-chute and one side of the bifurcated tubes 19 p, and that when the address is to be changed, if the stencil plates be changed to the other width, the switch is shifted and deflects the papers into the other side of the-bifurcated tube. By this means the papers are sorted without manual labor, and their delivery by mail greatly facilitated.

The c ryinfitapes employed by us in the constructionof the above-described apparatus Wires 1" 1" connect are metallic band s, copper, brass, or equivalent metal being employed, and they are roughened onthe sidethat comes in contact with the papersor other publications which they are designed to transfer, or on both sides, if so desired. Such tapes, being very durable and little sion,cords or hands are illustrated in Fig. 3 as the means to be used outside of the machine,

the remaining connections being within the sides of the frame and illustrated in previous figures. The design of Fig. 6 is to illustrate the conditions of the apparatus at two points of time. .The full lines designate the rollers an in position when they have just completed the fold of the flap, and the broken lines represent the same at the moment when they have left the paper free, and when it is being discharged by the spring P. V

The above description, has been confined to a machine arranged with special-reference to the wrapping of newspapers.

changes as in "no wise affect the functional and foldingmachines now employed. It'may,

however, be'stated that many alterations in the character of the several elements composing the machine may be made--as,for instance, in respect to the addressing mechanism,'other of the known forms may beemployed; or it may be dispensed with entirely, and the addresses printed on the web of wrapping;paper before the same is delivered to the apparatus.

We are aware that a folding and wrapping apparatus for similar purposes to those for which portions of the above described machine are designed is not broadly new. Our invention is distinguished from such by the character of the mechanisms employed, by the relative disposition of the elements composing the apparatus as an entirety, and by theintroductio'n of,novel devices, not exhibited, so far as we are aware, in any machines hitherto existing.

We would state that the carrier-tapes described are not claimed specifically herein, as weintendmakingseparateapplication therefor.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus forautomatically wrapping.

newspapers and similar publications, consisting of the following instrumentalities, to wit: mechanism for holding and feeding a wrapper- His, however, obvious that without alteration, or with such character of the devices employed, the same IOO wt h, mechanism for associating with sections ot' the same partially-folded publications, and intermediate mechanism for dividing the web into sections before the association therewith of the publications, a folding mechanism, a pasting mechanism, and apressingmechanism, these devices being constructed and combined for co-operative action, substantially in the manner hereinbei'ore set forth.

2. An apparatus for automatically wrapping newspapers and similar publications, consisting of the following instrumentalities, to wit: a wrapper-web holder, mechanism for imparting at intervals addresses upon the'web, mechanism for associating with sections of the web partially-folded publications, and intermediate mechanism for dividing the web into sections of given length before the association therewith of the publications, a folding mechanism, a pasting mechanism, and a pressing mechanism, these devices being constructed and combined for cooperative action, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. An automatic apparatus comprising; the following instrumentalities, to wit: a mechanism for feeding a wrapper-web, mechanism for dividing the same into sections, mechanism for associating with such section a partiaily-folded publication, mechanism for completing the folding of the said publication, devices forsecuring the wrappers on the same, a delivery mechanism, and a sorting mechanism, these devices being constructed and combined for co-operative action, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, in an apparatus for sealing newspapers and other publicationsin wrappers, of a pasting-surface, mechanism for creating a current or blast of air toward the same, and mechanism for bringing portions of the wrappers in proximity to the pasting-surface and under the influence of the air-blast, whereby they may be forced in contact with the pasting-surface and receive a charge of paste, all substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a folding and wrapping apparatus, of a sorting mechanism consisting of a divided chute or trough, with a switch for deflecting the products of the said apparatus into one or other of the said divisions, substantially as and for the purpose set of said apparatus into one or the other of the divisions of the chute, and an electro-magnet controlling said switch, and included in a circuit opened and closed at proper intervals by a moving portion of the apparatus, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, in an apparatus of the kind described, with the electromagnetic sorting mechanism and a circuit connected therewith, of a continuous band of stencils of uncqual widths, and contact strips or terminals disposed in such relation therewith that a metallic connection may be established between the terminals by the wider strips only, substantially in the manner described.

8. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination, with the devices for inclosing newspapers or other folded publications in wrappers, and applying to the latter a line of paste, of mechanism for imparting to the said papers and to the wrappers, with the exception of the outer lap,a bentorcurved shape.

in a direction at right angles to the length of the wrapper, and devices operating to fold over and secure the outer laps upon the wrapped package \vhilebent, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The folding and pressing mechanism consisting of a rotating cylinder, recessed as described, in combination with a system of carrier-rollers and a. folding and pressing roller, the said rollers being capable of intermittent rotation around the cylinder at a higher speed than that of the cylinder, substantially in the manner set forth.

10. The combination, with the cylinder M and the system of rollers operating in conjunction therewith, ot' a spring, 1, arranged in the path of the bearings of the rollers, and adapted to be actuated thereby for the purpose of forcing the sealed publications from the surface of cylinder M.

11. The combination of rollers F ii and tapes connected therewith, of guide-springs m, roller K, band K, passing through a pastereservoir, and an air-blast apparatus, G, substantially as described.

In testimony whertot' we have hereunto set our hands this 7th day of January, 1882.

- BEN AMIN V. TOMLINSON.

ALFRED BALUH.

Witnesses:

\V. FRIsBY. PARKER W. PAGE. 

